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Posts by Greg Sterling

July 18, 2019

Hey Google, What’s the Real Local Search Number?

Google over time has taken a very conservative public position on the percentage of queries that carry local intent. It said years ago (2011) the local search percentage of desktop queries was 20%. For mobile it has said “nearly one-third of all mobile searches are related to location.” But there’s considerable evidence that these statements…

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July 17, 2019

Consumers Not As Tech-Focused As Local Restaurants Believe: Survey

Restaurant point of sale provider Toast is out with a new “Restaurant Success Report” about the state of the local restaurant industry. The report focuses on a wide array of topics: technology adoption, marketing, menu planning, hiring and other subjects. The data come from multiple surveys of restaurant owners and consumers between June 2018 and…

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July 16, 2019

Amazon Promotes SMB E-commerce Success on Prime Day

Amazon put out a mid-Prime Day press release touting, among other things, the success of small businesses (SMBs) on its platform. The company has in the past few years increasingly sought to present itself as a primary channel for SMB e-commerce. According to the release, “Worldwide sellers – predominantly small and medium-sized businesses – saw…

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July 16, 2019

Study: 84% of GMB Search Is Category Based, Only 16% Direct

What does an analysis of 45,000 GMB listings tell us? BrightLocal just released a study that analyzed that number of Google My Business (GMB) listings from the US, UK, Canada and Australia in 36 industries. Most of the listings are associated with small businesses rather than franchises, presumably. Here are the top-level findings in the…

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July 12, 2019

NinthDecimal’s Local Multi-Touch & PlaceIQ Returns to Its Data Roots

Attribution remains a major pain-point for most enterprise marketers, several years after the advent of location intelligence and various multi-touch attribution (MTA) solutions. Many still rely on a first or last-click methodology because they’re simpler, if myopic and inaccurate. Now like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, NinthDecimal has combined MTA and location intelligence. I haven’t seen…

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July 12, 2019

Google Has Another Go at (Local) Social Networking

Google has taken several runs at social networking, most recently with the shuttered Google+. It appears to be making another go now with Shoelace, a local-social app. Right now it appears to only be operative in New York but Google plans to take it nationwide. The pitch on the website — the app is invitation…

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July 11, 2019

Survey: 63% of SMBs Now ‘Encourage’ Customer Reviews

There are lots of surveys about the importance of local business reviews. The latest (registration required) comes from Uberall (n=300 SMBs) and is focused on business owner attitudes about reviews and review acquisition. According to the findings, “more than 90% of SMBs think online reviews are important.” Here’s the distribution: Very important — 54% Moderately…

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July 10, 2019

Forecasts: SMBs Driving Global Ad Growth, Local Revs to Hit $149 Billion

Ad revenue growth is slowing. The major forecasting firms have revised their global growth predictions for 2019 downward compared to 2018. Consensus estimates put digital ad revenues at or near 50% this year. And local revenues (including traditional media) are expected to reach $149 billion according to BIA Advisory Services (formerly BIA/Kelsey). Zenith, part of…

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July 9, 2019

Has Voice Search Stalled?

Amazon Prime Day is next week — it’s actually already underway — and the company will be pushing its various Alexa devices hard. Aggressive discounts and bundling will drive hundreds of thousands of sales of smart speakers, displays and smart home gadgets. Google will counter with discounts on Nest/Home products too. Then will come the…

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July 8, 2019

Survey: Most SMBs Spend 2 Unhappy Years of Marriage with SEO Provider

A recent survey of 1,200 US small business owners and decision-makers from Backlinko found high expectations of SEO providers and widespread dissatisfaction — only 30% would recommend their current providers. There was also evidence some confusion about SEO services and what they can accomplish. The findings showed that the average monthly spend on SEO services…

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